yucca
Member
Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434 |
I'm sure you are right. Judging by many of the questions here and elsewhere, it is clear that many users don't consult the manual. Maybe they don't know the manual is on the CD-ROM, and maybe they have just learned that the manual is going to be crap anyway.
[rant]
What has driven the devolution of manuals is the apathy of consumers. Too few consumers complained as the quality of manuals declined during the 1980s. Then the monolithic manual was broken down into pieces - typically an installaiton/quick start guide, a users guide and a programmers guide (for apps with a macro language). The 1990s saw programmers guides repacked into the "Developer's Edition" and sold at a premium. Next the users guides were put on a diet; and then either dropped entirely, or sold as an extra cost "option." The advent of the Internet hasn't helped. Now alot of software is sold with nothing resembling a manual, even on disk.
The justifications for bad or MIA manuals are:- Why should everyone pay for something that only a few users demand?
- Why should a vendor spend all that money on a manual when users can purchase a third-party manual that caters to their experience level? This is usually tied to the first justification.
- Users prefer to learn as they go; and do so via the vendor's web site, newsgroups, training courses, etc.
- "The user interfaces are so refined and intuitive that users no longer need manuals. Besides, our integrated help and Tool Tip features fulfill the same function as a manual. " Don't laugh; I've been given this explanation by more than one vendor. Another version of this excuse is "our manual was replaced by our interactive web site [is there any other kind of web site?]. The web site allows us to keep the information current, and we can change content to meet customer demand." This latter point is not so funny when the product is an operating system, and the user can not access the web to get answers (maybe even get some help?) because they don't have a functional OS to begin with!!
 I guess I shouldn't complain; helping these folk out has threatened to become a second career for me. 
- "Once UCITA is universally adopted, we won't even have to ship software that works as advertised. If this is so, what makes you think we care if you know how to operate the software?" For info on UCITA, see below. Yes. I'm guilty of "quoting" what no software vendor has ever said. However, I'm fairly certain that I am spot on regarding their intent.
What I find even more depressing is that these companies are now repeating with tech support what was done to the manual. These companies are increasingly looking to keep the customer at arm's length. For the worst example of this trend, look at what is going on with Symantec. Not only can you no longer call for tech support; but your e-mail appears to be run through a parser, and you get "canned" responses which have little or no bearing on your problem.
BTW, if you are not already working to defeat the new Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) in your state, you should be. If you think license agreements are bad now, wait until this baby is law in your state. Oh. If you live in Maryland, you are already screwed. For a primer on UCITA, see - http://www.infoworld.com/articles/o...809opfoster.xml
[/rant]
[Edited by yucca on 10-14-2000 at 10:53 PM]
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10-14-2000 06:03 PM
Typical...
Got an idea...
<gulp>
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